Vermont

two-lane near derby,
th’customs guy won’t mind th’lack ‘f cash,
and, nice day for walking
(11-16)








made his own cabin,
headwaters ‘f th’connecticut –
end ‘f june, takes ‘s art t’town
(2-16)






small-town fourth parade,
a texan learns - vermont too
was once a country
(5-13)






barre picnic – th’kid
likes th’fisher, who kills th’porc’pine
without getting hurt
(2-16)







hard work, rocky soil –
neighbors, frog run farm kids got
something in common
(2-17)





old yards, train hist'ry,
weeds and granite, fresh coffee -
white river junction
(5-10)




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at th’top ‘f mount mansfield,
even ‘n july, th’cold harsh wind –
th’boots hold to th’granite
(1-18)


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mime ‘t th’festival ‘f fools –
country folk crowd ‘long church street,
but hesitate t’laugh
(1-18)








fresh eggs ‘n’ black coffee –
th’old guy ‘n th’weeds, th’history ‘f trains
‘n white river junction
(10-17)






white river junction –
th’old man tells how th’states’re diff’rent
might look th’same from th’train
(11-16)








hiking in the greens,
she steps between bear and cub -
moment's grace prevails
(5-13)









fam'ly in bristol,
deep ponds on the new haven
cleanse her of judgment
(11-13)









farmer slows down, miffed
by august big city traffic -
streets of rutland
(5-10)










lentil soup ‘n’ potatoes –
th’spuds’re fresh picked, only thing ‘t grows
‘n th’rocky kingdom soil
(11-16)









kingdom soil's rocky -
but those kids got something from
their back forty
(12-13)









green mountain valley –
th’white steeple, th’perfect center,
th’leaves turn around it
(2-16)








stowe maid's illusions,
she says, like those ginkgo leaves -
lost 'm all in one day
(12-13)







read twenty classics
hopes t’finish de maupassant
in th’deer hill lean-to
(2-16)











through hiker in greens -
somehow stopped seeing colors
't thirty miles a day
(2-14)










colors ‘f saint johnsb’ry –
town square sage, wisdom’s easy
when his wood’s all cut
(11-16)






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meadow, stand ‘f maples –
from l a t’th’farm in essex,
then he stopped trav’ling
(1-18)






guy’s like th’fall colors
‘f saint johnsbury – knows th’cold, but
can’t help showing off
(11-17)







in th’back, th’welsh hiker –
gap ‘n understanding, but th’leaves
‘f th’kent road blaze ‘n glory
(3-17)







through hiker, dazed ‘n’ tired
in th’greens, pushing f’r katahdin,
th’colors’ve begun t’fade
(11-16)








quite th’pretty picture,
tucked in th’flaming greens, th’village –
only guess th’drama
(2-17)









back ‘f th’tiny wagon,
third hiker, packs ‘n then th’fiddle –
from th’or’nge square, th’road t’kent
(7-15)









climbs up into greens,
flees raked leaves, small town, old flame
for th'nomad's campfire
(5-10)








tried t’sell him rabbits,
‘n th’french car – back t’ward burlington,
th’first snows catch him
(11-16)






speaks fluent russian –
light snow ‘n th’silent middlebury,
‘n’ there’s no one t’talk to
(10-17)







christmas tree farmer’s
truck’s loaded – looks ‘t th’blanket ‘f stars,
points it down seven
(12-17)








stowe ski holiday
interrupted - car off road,
flipped over on skis
(1-07)






wintered at stowe f'years,
didn't know how cold it was
'til his tire went flat
(12-13)







killington snow queen –
good figure, nice tan from th’slopes,
th’men’ll pay for her wine
(11-17)







ferrisburgh farmer,
holtz house woodpile makes it clear
he’s seen a bit ‘f snow
(2-17)





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icy winding roads –
th’covered bridges ‘t northfield falls
put some risk in ‘s life (1-18)






snowed in, brattleboro –
even in a friendly town,
‘t’s like solitary
(12-15)






snowed in, brattl’boro –
th’scholar didn’t reckon with
th’forces of nature
(11-16)




near plainfield, th’blizzards –
back 'n th’days ‘f th’communes, th’newcomers
stayed real close to th’fire
(7-17)

northeast kingdom roads
look alike, snow on signs, wound
up in canada...
(9-05)





fifty years milking
vermont cows - goes south one march
and has heart attack
(8-05)







milked cows ‘n th’horse farm road –
fifty years they did th’same thing,
took a break ‘n march, ‘n’ died
(2-17)









fresh maple syrup,
she gives him rutland's finest -
in french, stammered praise
(5-13)






old kingdom farmer –
cows loose, tracks in th’mud – ‘fraid they
went up t’canada
(10-17)





may rains, kingdom roads,
crowded car, soft voice, her dream –
organic farming
(8-15)





mud season drizzle –
she’s not sure norton townsfolk
really know nothing
(8-15)






barre mechanic –
one curse f’r th’mud, but works deftly
t’get th’old truck running
(1-18)









haiku day, ‘n’ more snow –
th’deep blue champlain looks back ‘t th’town
‘n’ knows it will prevail
(4-18)










th’towns make th’decisions –
tells ‘bout th’earth day montpelier
voted t’go solar
(1-18)










blooming laurel’s tale –
parts ‘f lost pond bog are squishy,
but that’s where i live
(2-17)







they like th’hillside pinks,
th’yellows ‘n th’greens, but he prefers
th’laurels ‘f lost pond bog
(11-17)








lots ‘f fish ‘n otter creek –
stay on th’road, though, mud season,
it’s easy t’get stuck
(7-16)








to th’morgan horse farm,
may morn, t’shovel, but at lunch,
nixon on th’t v
(7-16)




 

welsh hiker, road t’kent –
she gives him th’best jar of her
fresh maple syrup
(10-17)




mud season farmer
asked if he knows which way to
barre, says just "yes"
(3-10)







vacationing ‘n th’greens
leaves th’mud ‘n th’new york plates, t’avoid
th’disdain of th’locals
(11-16)






stopped in montpelier -
this dusty boxcar, refuge
from constant june rains
(1-15)








kingdom wanderer
crossed border by accident -
spent june explaining
(1-12)







on foot ‘n middlebury –
only th’locusts seem t’use th’roads,
whole night t’get t’new york
(2-17)


e pluribus haiku